First Friend
When I reflect back on this book the one thing that keeps coming back to my mind is Jefferson's journal entry, and I don't think it's recency bias. It was a super emotionally fraught and raw chapter. It was also drastically different from what we were used to reading. Everything we had read so far was from Grant's perspective, and very little included Grant's actual encounters with Jefferson. So, it was a stark contrast to have a whole chapter from Jefferson's perspective, at the climax of the book.
I was thinking: what does this chapter tell us about Grant and Jefferson's relationship? I think it confirmed that Grant was successful in achieving Miss Emma's goal. Jefferson seemed much more mature and heroic than he did at first (developing from acting like a hog to make a point, to wanting a whole gallon of ice cream, to asking for a thoughtful final meal with a reasonable amount of ice cream). The chapter also showed that Grant was successful in becoming Jefferson's first real friend, which I find kind of revealing and bittersweet. The latter because it was only under these conditions - getting attention because he was going to be executed - that people wanted to get to know Jefferson and actually made an effort to become friends with him, but also because at least Jefferson left this world a happier and better person than he would have otherwise.
I think that Grant and Jefferson's relationship was revealing because it shows our underlying human values and basic empathy. Even though Jefferson had given in to internalized racism and accepted the white view of himself as a hog, Grant was still able to connect with him over the most fundamental emotions like fear and loneliness. We can all understand basic human feelings because we have all experienced them. Grant being able to develop Jefferson into a man showed that no matter how far apart two people can be mentally, we can always fundamentally relate to each other. While the system may have forced Grant to teach Jefferson reading, writing, and arithmetic, in the jail cell, in Jefferson's dying days, Grant taught Jefferson about himself, and through the process learned more about his own character as well. The chapter was powerful for many reasons, and I think one of the most important ones is because we were able to see how much Jefferson had developed since our initial introduction to his character.
I was thinking: what does this chapter tell us about Grant and Jefferson's relationship? I think it confirmed that Grant was successful in achieving Miss Emma's goal. Jefferson seemed much more mature and heroic than he did at first (developing from acting like a hog to make a point, to wanting a whole gallon of ice cream, to asking for a thoughtful final meal with a reasonable amount of ice cream). The chapter also showed that Grant was successful in becoming Jefferson's first real friend, which I find kind of revealing and bittersweet. The latter because it was only under these conditions - getting attention because he was going to be executed - that people wanted to get to know Jefferson and actually made an effort to become friends with him, but also because at least Jefferson left this world a happier and better person than he would have otherwise.
I think that Grant and Jefferson's relationship was revealing because it shows our underlying human values and basic empathy. Even though Jefferson had given in to internalized racism and accepted the white view of himself as a hog, Grant was still able to connect with him over the most fundamental emotions like fear and loneliness. We can all understand basic human feelings because we have all experienced them. Grant being able to develop Jefferson into a man showed that no matter how far apart two people can be mentally, we can always fundamentally relate to each other. While the system may have forced Grant to teach Jefferson reading, writing, and arithmetic, in the jail cell, in Jefferson's dying days, Grant taught Jefferson about himself, and through the process learned more about his own character as well. The chapter was powerful for many reasons, and I think one of the most important ones is because we were able to see how much Jefferson had developed since our initial introduction to his character.
Good post. Jefferson's diary is the first time we get a first-person retelling of events from his perspective. We've been shown the changes in his character from Grant's point of view, but now we get to see how Jefferson himself thinks and feels.
ReplyDeleteJefferson's diary was extremely revealing. We were able to see Jefferson's inner thoughts and feelings, especially those than he can't articulate. I feel like learning about Jefferson from his journal, rather than through Grant's narration, made the chapter much more powerful. We're able to see how much he's grown at a person. We see him call himself a man, something we've never heard him say in Grant's narration.
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